Direct Debit increased 244% with Eon Next

mushypeace

I was moved to Eon Next last year when Symbio closed down. There was a couple of months where I didn't hear anything from either company but in November I received an email from Eon Next saying they'd estimated my usage for the year and my DD would be £83.22. I was in credit with Symbio so the balance was transferred and everything was fine as far as I was aware. I have been paying this DD since December.

I received my latest bill last week and was confused as to why it was saying I was in debit. It says on the letter "You pay by monthly Direct Debit, so your payments are up to
date. We regularly review how much you're paying to make sure it's the right amount and will let you know if it needs to change." so I didn't know what was going on and contacted them.

They have said that the usage calculated during the transfer process was vastly underestimated and I should have been paying £207.10 a month rfrom the start. As I wasn't paying this amount then I have been underpaying and getting myself into debt without realising (I have ADHD and don't always check bills to make sure they're correct). Because of this underpayment I am now -£1,016.24 in debit and they want to increase my DD to £286.85 for the next 12 months to recover the debt - an increase of 244% on what I've been paying so far. I live alone in a one-bedroom flat with no central heating.

After speaking to them they have agreed to just take the £207.10 for now and have forwarded the debt to another department to look into why the original estimate was so low and why I wasn't made aware of the correct amount sooner. They've said if I can't manage this payment (or the proposed £286) then I can look at StepChange or the Eon Next Energy Fund but I don't want to go down that line if possible.

Where do I stand with this? What rights do have?

As mentioned, I have ADHD and find it difficult to take in information sometimes and manage financial matters so any advice (that I have in writing and can refer back to) would be gratefully received.

pochase

Are the meter readings in the bill correct or are they estimated. Do you have a smart meter or have you submitted regular meter readings?

How many bills have you received since you joined EON Next? Are the bills showing you getting into debt? If so you have received the information that your usage is higher than what is covered by your direct debit.

How much was your DD with Symbio, as you are aware that the EON rates were much more expensive?

Have you used the same amount of energy, or have you used more? Was the estimate usage of energy in line with your real usage? An estimate is just an estimate, if you use more than what is estimated your bill will go up.

If you have no central heating, does that include no storage heaters? Are you using panel heaters or radiators? That would be very expensive and explain the high bill.

mushypeace

pochase said:

Are the meter readings in the bill correct or are they estimated. Do you have a smart meter or have you submitted regular meter readings?

I have been submitting meter readings every month since my first bill. I get an email to remind me. I don't have a smart meter.

How many bills have you received since you joined EON Next? Are the bills showing you getting into debt? If so you have received the information that your usage is higher than what is covered by your direct debit.

I've had 4 bills - 8 Jan, 25 Jan, 21 Feb, 31 Mar. This last one for March covered 1 April - 25 May and I only received it last week which is what prompted me to contact them to question the debt. As mentioned, I have ADHD and although the bills do show "DR" and "CR" they don't actually mention "debt" or "owing" or anything like that so I didn't realise. Plus, as mentioned it says I'm up to date and they'll contact me if they need to adjust my DD.

Have you used the same amount of energy, or have you used more? Was the estimate usage of energy in line with your real usage? An estimate is just an estimate, if you use more than what is estimated your bill will go up.

Same amount, nothing out of the usual compared to last year. Apparently the estimate the DD was based on was less than half of what the real estimate was from Symbio. The DD was based on something like 4,200kWh (they don't know where this came from because I didn't give it to them) when the actual estimate is 8846.6 kWh.

If you have no central heating, does that include no storage heaters? Are you using panel heaters or radiators? That would be very expensive and explain the high bill.

I did have storage heaters but I don't use them and I had them removed recently. I couldn't control them very well so the only heater I have is a electriQ 2000W Designer Glass Heater which is low energy. I've had this for a while so nothing has really changed. No new appliances, I've been working from home for two years.

I only moved to Symbio in early 2021 because Powershop closed. These were the estimates from my previous suppliers:

Powershop estimate - 7349.00 kWh (Feb 2021)
Symbio estimate - 8369.39 kWh (Nov 2021)
Eon Next estimate - 8846.6 kWh (Jun 2021)

mushypeace

The last one should be Jun 2022.

pochase

So you knew that the 4200KWh estimate they were using was not even half of your real use. Why does it surprise you that the real cost is double your direct debit, and why did you not make them aware that their estimate is to low?

They will have based your estimate on a full electric flat, and there 4200KWh is a reasonable estimate.  

Many suppliers will do a direct debit review only every 6 months, and not after each bill. Some suppliers like BG and EDF even only do a billing every 6 months. So until your next review you were up to date as you were paying the direct debt amount every month, that does not mean you were not in debt.

Even if the bill did not show the wording "You owe us", the bill would have shown what they charge you for the billing period, and if it shows you used energy for £400, but you only paid 2 x £86 for the two months, it should be clear that you are going into debt.

Regarding your heating, there is no "low energy 2000W" heater. the heater uses 2KWh per hour if you use it on highest setting. 2000w for an old radiator cost the same as a 2000w modern glass heater. And using this type of heating is the most expensive one possible.

Are you on an E7 tariff or on a single tariff? I assume that you will not use the heater a lot at night so most likely a E7 tariff will not make much sense for you.

mushypeace

I had no idea they had estimated 4200 kWh and Eon don't even know where this number has come from. I assumed Symbio would have sent over all the details of what I had used as well as their projection. The lady I spoke to last week said this is what normally happens so she said she would have to go away and investigate where this number came from. As I had been paying £68.01 with Symbio then I thought £83.22 with Eon sounded right.

Regarding the heater - I'm not an electrician or an expert in heaters but when the product description says "electriQ 2000W Designer Glass Heater Wall Mountable Low Energy with Smart WiFi Alexa" and it came top on a Which poll for low energy heaters (I did research before buying) then I think it's safe to say it's a low energy heater. Considering I was using more energy with the storage heaters then I'd disagree with you saying that electric heaters is the most expensive option possible because it wasn't in my experience.

At Symbio I was on the tariff "Low Fair and Green 12M Fixed SE01 v22"

At Eon I'm on "Fix to 2023" but I don't know if these are E7 or not as it doesn't say on any of the paperwork I have.

Sea_Shell

Does your current Eon tariff have a "V" number?  V12, V13 etc? 

Did you ever choose an Eon tariff, or are you, to your knowledge, still on the tariff you were moved to?

molerat

If you are on E7 the bill will show 2 rates - R1/R2, High/Low, Day/Night and you will have to submit 2 reads.  The meter will also have "multi rate" on the front.

Have you checked that the bills are using the readings you supplied ?

Post up any readings and dates you have.

mushypeace

Sea_Shell said:

Does your current Eon tariff have a "V" number?  V12, V13 etc? 

Did you ever choose an Eon tariff, or are you, to your knowledge, still on the tariff you were moved to?

I don't see any V. In my online account it just says:

Electricity
Fix to 2023 - Fixed term ends 14/05/2023
Day rate - 25.33 p/kWh
Night rate - 13.82 p/kWh
Standing charge - 37.80 p/day

I remember when I was asked to set-up my account that it gave the tariff I was on and recommended a cheaper one so I went for the cheaper one. This was before I read Martin Lewis saying you should stick with what you've given. However, when I spoke to the lady at Eon last week she said that this is still the cheapest option.

pochase

Fix to 2023 is a current tariff and is fixed for 18 months. 

So I don't think @MushyPeas went onto it last year. More likely he fixed recently and was on a SVT before.

https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/products-and-services/fix-to-2023

mushypeace

This is taken from the first bill I received on 8 Jan. I don't have a smart meter so no idea where those numbers came from and this is what confused the lady I spoke to last week too which is why she said she needed to investigate.

This was then from my bill on 21 Feb with actual readings: